"I know the Super-Moby Dick best!"-Lightning Lad using some sort of 30th Century slang that it's best we not know the meaning of, from Adventure Comics 332 (1965).

January 05, 2004

Infinity Inc. 14-15 (1985)

Today’s Infinity Inc. comics review is the two-parter featuring Chroma from issues 14-15. I’m limiting today’s entry to those two issues, because, if memory serves me correctly, this was the last of the not-quite-there efforts on this title before Helix came along in issue 16 and the series hits its prime. That stuff deserves its own entry.

There is a lot to like about issues 14-15. Unfortunately it suffers from the story with a great build-up and than a fizzler for an ending syndrome.

The biggest deal is that Todd McFarlane became the regular artist on the series – his first job with DC and one of his first ever. You may not like the public persona he’s developed over the years or his writing, but there is no denying he did a knock-out job on Infinity Inc. In the letters’ page Roy Thomas predicts that Todd McFarlane “is a name the comics world will hear a lot more of in the future”. Hey Roy – who do you like in the third race tomorrow at Preakness?

In fact, Thomas and McFarlane show real teamwork here with some innovative page layouts. In issue 15, the top of each page consists largely of “talking heads” describing or showing the reaction of the public and secondary characters to what is going on. The “talking heads” include newscasters, religious figures, JSAers and scientists. The bottom part (the majority of the page) consists of the simultaneous action involving the Infinitors. Before you think they’re just copying Frank Miller’s style from the Dark Knight series – this came out first! This technique effectively captures the idea that the menace at hand affects more than just the costumed heroes and it helps the flow of the story, reducing the amount of exposition necessary for the leads (this is particularly helpful in a Roy book, where the expository dialog can take over).

The villain of the piece was intriguing until his/her/its origin/motivation was revealed at the end. He/she/it was Chroma, who interrupted a televised concert with a song about apocalypse that had most who heard it obsessed with listening to it over and over again. Vocal powers in comics are nearly impossible to pull off and this is no exception. Physical powers in comics? Easy. Mental powers? Pretty easy to depict too. Powers of persuasion? That works too. Singing/sonic powers? Exhibit A: Dazzler. Exhibit B: Banshee. Exhibit C: Black Canary’s on again/off again power. Exhibit D: Dazzler (she was such an ill-thought through character she needs to count twice). They never work. Never. At least until comics on computer CDs with voice acting becomes standard anyway.

Getting past that though, the effect that Chroma had on people was intriguing. Even the Infinitors found themselves wanting to hear his song again. He made people realize the inevitably of death, yet instead of running the other way, they wanted to hear more. Pretty interesting twist. Not all people were affected though. Obsidian, who was the spotlighted Infinitor in this story, was one of them. Emphasizing what an outsider Obsidian was from the rest of the Infinitors and world, the 2-parter starts out with Obsidian getting rejected by a blind date, then fighting the Infinitors who try to stop him from getting to Chroma and finally, in the worst betrayal to him, being stopped by his twin sister, Jade.

There were other interesting things before the fizzling end. Northwind, who thanks to his booster, Dave Fiore (12/30 entry), has been getting a second chance at being evaluated as something other than a throwaway character, used violence for the first time in the series when he slams a thug’s face to the ground. Until that point, it appeared that Northwind was a pacifist – when fighting Hawkman, he thought only of ways to stall Hawkman and never tried to land a blow. Darn - I was hoping he was a pacifist and somehow I was too dense to notice the first time through the series. Northwind also gets to run around a bit without that ridiculous blue mask he was designed wearing. Also Sharon (the woman who rejected Obsidian) and Marcie are introduced as double dates for Obsidian and Northwind. Brain Wave Jr. “calls” Jade (he actually plants the phone number where he is temporarily in her head and compels her to call – he’s still unable to deal with his dad’s death and whatever his dad did to boost his powers). We even see Brain Wave Jr. use his powers to mentally compel a pay phone to discharge its’ coins to him. Let’s just focus on the fact that Hank is now willing to resort to petty theft to survive and not think about what that must have done to the poor pay phone’s mind. As another aside, the depiction of rotary phones really dates this series, making it seem much more ancient than its 19 years. The point of all this extra stuff is that the narrative has finally reached a smooth flow where the characters have come more and more “to life”. When this series started, I had viewed the Infinitors as annoying characters taking up space I wanted to see the JSA in. Gradually and reluctantly I found myself becoming interested in reading their stories.

But, alas, the story had to end and it was not graceful. To ease the pain, I’ll try to recap it as succinctly as possible. Chroma’s earth-form was one of many self-replicating beings in the universe who sing their song to planets to see their reactions. When Obsidian defeated him in part one it was only because his “attentions were temporarily focused far from your galaxy.” If Obsidian had succeeded in attacking him a second time, Chroma would have let his form die thereby making humanity unable to ever forget his song. But Obsidian was stopped so now Chroma is leaving, but will return with another song in one million years. Oooookay. Ummmm…What was Roy thinking here? What a load of garbage! The end makes the whole ordeal meaningless and makes readers instinctively go “huh?!?!?”. On the bright side, with a finish like that I think we are safe from ever seeing another Chroma appearance again. Bring on Helix!

I was never that enamored with this series.It had enough to keep me interested but it suffered from generally bad artwork after Ordway left early in the run.

Todd MacFarlane just couldn't hold my interest.The little 'extras' he'd add to the pages were certainly inventive but got irritating after a while.I don't think the artwork had any improvement until Mike Bair arrived late in the run.

Another problem I had with the series was Helix.I just couldn't find something to like about them with the exception of Mr. Bones.I can't help but notice that he seems to be the only survivor of the team,showing up in the current JSA series.

Posted by: Brian Taylor at January 6, 2004 08:15 PM

Brian:

Mag here at the Treadmill is with you on not liking Infinity Inc. He's accused me of saying I liked it because I wanted to, which could have some truth to it. The Helix issues are coming up next and I remember them as being among my favorites, so we'll see what my opinion is when I re-read them.

Posted by: h at January 6, 2004 10:09 PM

What a way for the great Todd McFarlane to make his DC debut. Being the artist of a stink of a story. Well, I guess it serves him right for being the jerk that he later became.

The story with Chroma never really went anywhere and truly a waste of space for this series. What was Roy Thomas thinking indeed.

Two things I'd like to point out here on that double date scene.

1. Todd, throughout the series, has always felt insecure with his place on the team because of the upbringing he had. I can say that Norda is the closest thing he had to a friend on Infinity Inc.

2. Norda sure has the coolest disguises to blend in and he sure knows the right things to say to Marcie Cooper.

Posted by: Robby Mendoza at June 17, 2004 11:52 PM

Chroma...

His song lingers like the scent of wet leaves on a gusty sping day. Like clouds on a windy day, never to return much like Chroma himself.

Wherever you go, Chroma will be with you. Like the song of the nightingale, his words are ever thus in your mind, or so T. S. Eliot would say had he heard the song and by stealing his words from the first of the four quartets.

You wanted the best, you got the best. These are in fact the lyrics to Chroma's song.

Chroma: The tower of power to sweet to be sour, funky like a monkey, ooooh yeah!

(The drumbeat kicks in and Chroma yells “Get Down!)

Someone in the background yells, “let me hear you say hoooooo!” and the crowd repeats hoooo! a few times before Chroma kicks back in.

Chroma: Soaring with the eagles and slithering with the snakes, I’ve been everywhere in between, I am your friend, I am Chroma. Speaking from the heart, it’s Chroma talking to you right now, let’s rock, dig it, dig it! Freak out, Freak out, oooooh yeah! This is the way it is and I will be there when it happens, the past the present and the future all in one time. We’re all gonna climb that mountain together and we are together forever, ooooh yeah!